FLORIDA TOUR – RUTH ECKERD HALL

The drive from Miramar to Clearwater took us through the Everglades of south Florida – including Alligator Alley!  Incredibly, we actually saw some 50-60 alligators along the banks of the river.  As we drove up I75 toward Tampa, we also realized that we didn’t have much diesel fuel.  According to our Exit Book, the next place was more than 150 miles away and I wasn’t sure we would make that.  And then we came across the “last chance for gas” sign at Swamp Billy’s – literally in the middle of nowhere.  We were very thankful that it was there.

We continued up I75 for miles and miles.  Along the way, we came up on a really bad fire.  Police and Firemen were everywhere and, just as we passed, they closed the interstate for fear the fire was going to jump the road.

The rest of the trip was fairly uneventful.  We pulled into Clearwater around 8pm.  After checking into the hotel, Ethan and I walked across the street to explore our food choices.  We settled on FAT BURGER and picked up a couple of spring rolls for the local Asian place.  I brought food back to the hotel for Cindy and then we needed to get some sleep.  Our load in for Ruth Eckerd Hall was 7am!

 

We arrived right on time and the crew was waiting for us at the dock. We’ve performed here a few times in the past.  It is a beautiful theatre and a great crew.  We were going to need a great crew today because the show was at 1pm!

Load in moved along smoothly and things seemed to be going well – scenery and lights were up.  Cindy, Ethan, and Keith were well into their day.  We hit the first break around 9am.  After break, lights were focused, show cues were tweaked, movers were programmed, sound was checked, and we were ready for doors.  Dinner arrived around 11:30am – doors would open at 12:30pm.

This is a big house – 2200 seats.  Tickets had been selling very well and by show time, we were sold out. That’s a great feeling I just can’t put into words.  AND the audience was fantastic!  Great responses, good volunteers, enthusiastic applause, and gasps of surprise and wonder.  What more could a performer want!

I have to confess this is one of my favorite places to perform.  Bobby and Kevin make us feel right at home here and take good care of us.

After tear down and load out, I dropped Cindy and Keith off at the hotel and Ethan and I began the long journey of moving the show to the West Coast.  Cindy and Keith would fly home for a few days and meet us in California.